1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a plasma display device, and more particularly, to a plasma display device having an improved dielectric layer where a maintenance electrode is embedded and a method of manufacturing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
A general discharging device includes at least a pair of electrodes and discharge is generated when a voltage is applied to the electrodes. As an example of the discharging device, there is a discharge lamp such as a fluorescent lamp, a gas laser generating apparatus, and a plasma display device.
Due to superior display performance such as large display capacity, high brightness, high contrast, and wide viewing angle, the plasma display device is widely recognized as a flat panel display panel having a performance close to a cathode ray tube.
The plasma display device is classified into a direct current plasma display device panel and an alternating current plasma display panel according to its operation principle. Also, the plasma display device is divided into an opposing discharge type and a surface discharge type according to configuration of electrodes.
FIG. 1 is a view showing an example of a surface discharge type plasma display device of the above discharge type plasma display device.
As shown in the drawing, a plasma display device includes a substrate 10, an address electrode 11 formed on the substrate 10, a dielectric layer 12 formed on the substrate 10 where the address electrode 11 is formed, a partition 13 formed on the dielectric layer 12 for maintaining a discharge distance and preventing electrical and optical cross talk between cells, and a front substrate 16 coupled to the substrate where the partition 13 is formed and having maintaining electrodes 14 and 15 of a predetermined pattern formed on the bottom surface thereof to cross the address electrode 11. A fluorescent layer 17 is formed at at least one side inside a discharge space sectioned by the partition 13. A dielectric layer 18 and a protective layer 19 in which the electrodes are embedded are formed on the bottom surface of the front substrate 16. A discharge gas mixed with neon (Ne) and xenon (Xe) is injected into the discharge space.
In the plasma display device having the above structure, the driving method is divided into driving for an address discharge and driving for a maintaining discharge. The address discharge is generated due to a difference in electrical field is con between the address electrode 11 and the maintaining electrode 14 (80Vxe2x88x92(xe2x88x92170V)=250V). At this time, wall charges are formed. The maintaining discharge is generated due to a difference in electrical potential between the maintaining electrodes 14 and 15 disposed at the discharge space where wall charges are formed. The maintaining discharge becomes a main discharge for displaying an actual image.
The maintaining discharge generated due to a difference in electrical potential applied between the maintaining electrodes 14 and 15 becomes weak as time passes. This is because the initial discharge voltage must be over 160 V in general since the distance between the maintaining electrodes 14 and 15 is about 80-100 xcexcm in an electrode structure of a conventional surface discharge type AC plasma display panel.
When the initial discharge voltage becomes great, much electrical power is consumed and simultaneously the rated capacity of a driving circuit becomes great. Also, induced potential is generated to an adjacent electrode, which causes cross talk. When the distance between the maintaining electrodes 14 and 15 is narrowed to lower the initial discharge voltage, the electrostatic capacity becomes too large.
Alternatively, the quantity of Xe in the discharge gas is increased to increase the efficiency of discharge. However, since the initial discharge voltage becomes great, there is a limit in increasing the quantity of Xe.
A surface discharge type plasma display device to solve the above problems is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,742,122. In the surface discharge type plasma display device, as shown in FIG. 2, the thickness T1 of a dielectric layer 23 formed on an upper surface of a transparent electrode 22 of a first substrate 21 is thinner than the thickness T2 of the dielectric layer 23 corresponding to a bus electrode 24 formed on and parallel to the transparent electrode 22.
In the above surface discharge type plasma display device, by removing ineffective discharge on the bus electrode 24, the efficiency of light emission can be improved while reducing power consumption and preventing cross talk between pixels. However, since the dielectric layer 23 has a uniform thickness on an upper surface of the transparent electrode, there is a limit in reducing the initial discharge voltage.
To solve the above problems, it is an objective of the present invention to provide a plasma display device in which an electrical field is concentrated on a predetermined position between maintaining electrodes or at an area corresponding to the maintaining electrode so that the initial discharge voltage is reduced and a method of forming a dielectric layer having a portion where an electrical field is concentrated.
It is another objective of the present invention to provide a method of manufacturing a plasma display device in which the quantity of Xe in a discharge gas is increased to improve the efficiency of light emission and a dielectric layer having a portion where an electrical field is concentrated in the plasma display device.
Accordingly, to achieve the above objective, there is provided a plasma display device which comprises a first substrate, an address electrode formed on an upper surface of the fist substrate, a first dielectric layer formed on the upper surface of the first substrate and embedding the address electrode, a second substrate which is transparent and forms a discharge space by being coupled to the first substrate, a plurality of maintaining electrodes formed on a lower surface of the second substrate to form a predetermined angle with the address electrode, each of the maintaining electrodes including first and second electrodes, a second dielectric layer formed on the second substrate where the maintaining electrodes are formed and embedding the maintaining electrodes, at least a portion where an electrical field is concentrated formed between the first and second electrodes constituting the maintaining electrodes, and a partition installed between the first and second substrates for sectioning the discharge space.
It is preferred in the present invention that said portion where an electrical field is concentrated includes a groove formed between said first and second electrodes, and that said groove is formed between said first and second electrodes in a discontinuous pattern.
To achieve another aspect of the above objective, there is provided a plasma display device which comprises a first substrate, an address electrode formed on an upper surface of the fist substrate, a first dielectric layer formed on the upper surface of the first substrate and embedding the address electrode, a second substrate which is transparent and forms a discharge space by being coupled to the first substrate, a plurality of maintaining electrodes formed on a lower surface of the second substrate to form a predetermined angle with the address electrode, each of the maintaining electrodes including first and second electrodes, a second dielectric layer formed on the second substrate where the maintaining electrodes are formed and embedding the maintaining electrodes, at least one portion where an electrical field is concentrated formed at an area corresponding to the first and second electrodes constituting the maintaining electrodes, and a partition installed between the first and second substrates for sectioning the discharge space.
To achieve the second objective, there is provided a method of manufacturing a dielectric layer having a portion where an electrical field is concentrated of a plasma display device, which is accomplished by forming a plurality of maintaining electrodes on an upper surface of a substrate, each of the maintaining electrodes being constituted by a pair of first and second electrodes, forming a lower dielectric layer on an upper surface of the substrate where the maintaining electrodes are formed, printing an upper dielectric layer for forming a groove in a continuous or discontinuous pattern at a portion on an upper surface of the lower dielectric layer and between the first and second electrodes, and curing the upper and lower dielectric layers by burning the same.